Protective means for commercial paper.



D. C. DAVIS.

PROTECTIVE MEANS FOR COMMERCIAL PAPER.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE I9, I9I5.

1,286.246. Patented Deo. 3, 1918.

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DAVID C. DAVIS, 0F WILKINSBUBG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROTECTIVE MEANS FOR COMMERCIAL PAPER.

Application filed June 19, 1915.

To all whom it 'may concern Be it known that I, Dxvin C. Davis, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Protective Means for Commercial Paper, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to protective devices for commercial paper and it has for its' object to provide instrumentalities and methods whereby the desired end may be attained in a simple, inexpensive and highly `'effective manner.v

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a face view of a blank bank check em bodying one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a face view of the check shown in Fig. l after it has been filled in and protected; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a book of bank checks embodying another form and further developmentsof my invention; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of a blank embodying still another form of'my invention.

The annual losses to'firms and individuals throughoutlthe country, because of raising checks and other forms of commercial paper, run to an enormous sum and many devices have been proposed, therefore, wherewith it would be rendered exceedingly difficult to alter the face value of an instrument without detection. Among the most widely used of these devices are small machines which may be set toany desired figure and which then imprint said figure upon the paper, either by actually cutting out` the numerals or by shredding the paper .and forcing ink into the shredded portions. Machines of this character are highly effective but are quite expensive and their use is therefore more or less restricted to persons and firms of considerable wealth.

By my invention, I print arow of limit figures upon a check or other niece of commercial paper in 4the manufacture thereof and I mutilate the paper under, between or adjacent to said figures, either by mechanical shreddimr a'1d disintegration or by removing the sizineE by chemical means or otherwise, the object being to render thepaper in tle neighborhood of said figures highly absorbent to ink or other writing Huid.

In the process of writing a check, all the limit figures greater than the face value or all those except sufficient to total up to the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Serial No. 35,102.

face value are canceled and the ink strikes through the mutilated paper, impregnating throughout the mass thereof and rendering erasure by either mechanical or chemical means extremely diflicult. Not only is the Cancelingink rendered inaccessible to th l erasing means but, furthermore, the paper at the point of cancellation may be so weakened in structure that it cannot resist violent mechanical erasing, the presence of a hole obviously exciting suspicion and causing an investigation to be instituted before cashing the paper at its apparent value.

Referring to Figs. l and 2 for a more detailed understanding ot' my invention, a sheet of paper 4, preferably of the safety character, is provided with the usual captions and blanks for the particular use to which it is to be put, A row or group of limit figures 5 is printed on any desired portion of the blank, as, for example, across the top thereof, and the paper under, between and around said figures is subsequently mutilated as shown at G-fi so that the sizing is disintegrated and the paper fibers exposed and opened up in such a manner as to produce a highly porous and absorbent strucy In case an excessive amount of canceling ink is used or the paper is abnormally mutilated, the ink may strike through onto the next blank in a check book and cause the lunintentional cancellation of limit figures thereon. The two rows of limit figures on neighboring blanks might be offset with respect to each other but this would involve providing two printing plates and would lead to trouble and confusion. I, therefore, preferably construct a check book as shown in Fig. 3, wherein the rows of limit figures 5 on two neighboring checks are in alinement with each other but the upper check 7 is provided with a mutilated space below the limit figures, whereas the check 8 is provided with a mutilated space above the figures. By locating the mutilated space alternately above and below the limit figures in this manner the ink is prevented from marking the cancellation space of the next check. The construction shown in Fig. 3 has the additional advantage that the legibility of the limit figures is not reduced by the process of mutilation. In filling in the check, the cancellation mark extends to a point opposite the face value of the check, rather than be ing placed directly upon the limit figures themselves.

Another possible method of carrying out my invention Without impairing the legibility of the limit figures is to insert small mutilated spaces therebetween, maintaining the paper Whereon the gures are printed in its original state, as shown in Fig. 4.

While I have shown and described several embodiments' of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is susceptible ofV various minor changes and modifications Without departing from the spirit thereof and I desire, therefore, that no restrictions shall be placed thereupon except such as are imposed by the prior art or specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination, a piece of blank com-v mercial paper, a series of limiting characters thereon, the paper adjacent to said characters having been rendered highly absorbent.

2. In combination, a piece of blank commercial paper provided With a mutilated portion, and a series of characters printed upon said portion.

3. In combination, a piece of blank commercial paper provided With a highly abn sorbent portion, and a series oi characters printed upon said portion.

4t. The method of protecting commercial paper, provided With a series of limiting characters which are closely associated with a portion of said paper which has been rendered more sensitive to alteration than the remainder of said paper, which comprises substantially simultaneously applying markpassais ing material to certain of said characters and rto parts of said sensitive portion.

5. rIhe method of protecting commercial paper provided With a series of limiting characters Which are closely associated with a portion of said paper which has been rendered highly absorbent, Which comprises substantially simultaneously applying marking fluid to certain of said characters and to portions or' said absorbent portion.

6. The method of protecting commercial paper which comprises providing a blank with a series of characters located upon a highly absorbent portion thereof, and canceling certain of said lcharacters when filling in said blank.

7. The method of protecting commercial paper which comprises providing a blank with a series of characters located adjacent to a portion thereof which has been rendered highly absorbent and placing ink upon said absorbent portion adjacent a portion o-said characters when lilling in said blank.

8. In combination, a piece of blank commercial paper, and a series of limiting characters thereon, the paper immediately under the various' portions of said characters having been rendered highly absorbent. l

9. In combination, a piece of blank commercial paper, and a series of limiting charactors thereog the paper immediately under the various portions of said characters hav-- ing been rendered more highly absorbent than th body of said blank.

In ,testimony whereof` I have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th day of J une i915.

DAVID C. DAVIS. 

